Kara Goucher, the former University of Colorado distance star who left the Nike Oregon Project in 2011 after seven years, said for the first time in explosive reports published Wednesday that she stepped away from the high-profile distance group because of coach Alberto Salazar’s win-at-all-costs persona, his flippant attitude toward therapeutic use exemptions, his willingness to ignore anti-doping rules, and other actions of his that put her health at risk.

Denver East grad David Oliver celebrates after winning the men’s 110-meter hurdles at the world championships in Moscow on Aug. 12. (Anja Niedringhaus, The Associated Press)

It’s too bad most sports fans only pay attention to track and field at the Olympics, because the U.S. just finished a stellar performance at the world championships, which occur every other year in the sport.

The U.S. dominated the scoring table in Moscow with six gold medals, 13 silver and five bronze. Denver East grad David Oliver won the 110-meter hurdles and CU grad Jenny Simpson took silver in the 1,500 meters.

Other gold medalists included Brianna Rollins (Miami) in the 100-meter hurdles, LaShawn Merritt (Norfolk, Va.) in the 400 meters, Britney Reese (Chula Vista, Calif.) in the long jump, Ashton Eaton (Eugene, Ore.) in the decathlon and the 4 x 400-meter relay team.

Great Britain's Mohamed Farah, right, celebrates winning gold with American silver medalist Galen Rupp, left, and coach Alberto Salazar after the men's 10,000 meter final at the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 4, 2012.

Playing a key role in that improvement has been Alberto Salazar, a former marathon great who coaches Rupp. Salazar also coached Kara Goucher when she won a bronze medal in the 10,000 at the 2007 world championships.

Salazar always believed in American distance runners, but he had to get them to believe, too.

“I absolutely believe that, starting 20 years ago, Americans and Western Europeans had a defeatist attitude,” Salazar said. “They thought the East Africans were so good, and there was just an onslaught of East Africans. The Americans and Brits went through a little bit of a lull. All of a sudden, not only were the East Africans running faster than anyone had run before, but now the Americans and Brits and Europeans were running slower.”

Mohamed Farah of Great Britain, left, celebrates winning the gold medal in the 10,000 meters with Galen Rupp of the United States at the Olympic Stadium on August 4, 2012 in London, England.

LONDON — On an electrifying evening in the Olympic Stadium, Galen Rupp became the first U.S. man to win a medal in the 10,000 meters since Billy Mills won at Tokyo in 1964. Rupp claimed silver, finishing right behind his training partner, Mo Farah of Great Britain.

Farah gave the home team its third gold medal of the evening.

“I’m thrilled for Mo. It’s unreal,” Rupp said. “Two training partners coming in first and second. I couldn’t be happier. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. I’m the lucky one — I get to train with the best middle distance runner in the world.”

Farah finished a thrilling race with multiple lead changes in 27 minutes, 30.42 seconds, Rupp in 27:30.9. Both train in Portland, Ore., and are coached by former marathon great Alberto Salazar.

Andrew Bumbalough, left, looks at Galen Rupp, right, down the finish of the men's 5,000 at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on Monday, June 25, 2012. Both advanced to Thursday's final.

EUGENE, Ore. — The primary question surrounding the men’s 5,000 meter final on Thursday at Hayward Field isn’t about who will make the U.S. Olympic team — just, quite frankly, the order of the finish.

Bernard Lagat, Lopez Lomong and Galen Rupp are widely considered to be the most likely candidates for the team because of their superior strength and raw speed. But will Rupp, the Oregon native who dominated the men’s 10,000 Monday night, finally be able to beat Lagat — he never has — and have enough left to win, too? Or will it be Lagat, the 37-year-old Kenyan native and now U.S. citizen who has multiple Olympic medals, World Championship and U.S. championship titles to his name? Or will it be Lomong, who’s bumped from the 1,500 to the 5,000 and possesses incredible closing speed?

Bernard Lagat waves to the crowd after finishing his preliminary heat in the 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on Monday.

One other athlete in the field, Andrew Bumbalough, also has the Olympic A standard in the race and, depending how the race unfolds, could be a factor in the early stages. But nowhere among those names is former University of Colorado and Smoky Hill High School star Brent Vaughn, who qualified through the preliminary round on Monday in 13 minutes, 45.87 seconds.

“It’s a prelim,” Vaughn said Monday after his race. “The idea is to just get through as easily as possible. I knew the time I had to run. I knew I was on pace.”

His best chance for making the Olympic team has likely already come and gone. In the 10,000 meters, he finished seventh in 27:55.44, nearly 20 seconds behind fellow CU alum Dathan Ritzenhein for the third and final spot to London. “It had been quite a while since I had raced,” Vaughn told The Denver Post. “It’s a long race, and I didn’t run as tough as I should have. I probably had too much running left in me, but I’ve got my legs now.”